Gold for Radcliffe

Paula Radcliffe claimed Great Britain’s first gold medal of the 2005 World Championships after a comprehensive victory in the marathon in Helsinki.

The world record holder crossed the finishing line in a new championship record time of two hours, 20 minutes and 57 seconds after injecting a stunning mid-race burst of speed.

Radcliffe broke clear after around 17 miles to effectively wreck the hopes of rivals Catherine Ndereba and Constantina Tomescu-Dita, who were left to fight their own battle.

Defending champion Ndereba, of Kenya, never posed a threat during the race but came through to get second.

Tomescu-Dita, after bravely challenging Radcliffe, was broken by her burst and was overtaken by Ndereba.